IMF urges Nigeria To Focus On Raising Revenue

By Clement Alphonsus
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For Nigeria to resolve its debt issues, the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) office in Nigeria, Ari Aisen, has advised Nigeria to efficiently raise revenues and manage its expenditure.

Aisen disclosed this at the Proshare WebTV online event organised recently. Corroborating the Debt Management Office’s (DMO) position on the need for Nigeria to address current revenue shortfalls, Aisen said, “The DMO is just trying to do its best in terms of financing the spending needs of the government. However, it is very clear that to resolve the debt issue of Nigeria, there is a need to concentrate on revenues and expenditures.”

“Nigeria’s debt position has deteriorated because the government is spending more than it’s getting in revenues,” he said.

Also, the IMF resident representative urged Nigeria to target its spending towards enhancing social welfare and improving the standard of living.

“The issue of revenue is existential for Nigeria, because on one hand, you need more revenues for spending on social needs and infrastructure that is efficient, but you also need more revenues to avoid having to get financing from the central bank, which is extremely inflationary.

“Therefore, the revenue piece in all this is highly essential for Nigeria to achieve macroeconomic stability, reduce inflation and rein in on the liquidity in the market on one hand, and on the other hand, raise resources to spend properly on efficient spending that will contribute to inclusive growth, creation of employment, infrastructure, health, education and social protection. This is the challenge for Nigeria,” according to him.

Aisen also advocated for good governance and efficient tax administration whereby all entities are paying taxes and seeing its impact on national development.